Hey, welcome back to your Daily Mindfulness. In today's session, we're going to discuss a simple technique, an acronym, that you can use to practice better self-care and not get caught up in reactive tendencies. So have you ever had the experience where something just feels off in the moment? You say something you wish you didn't say, you do something you wish you didn't do. Maybe you're just caught up in a reactive way of being that doesn't feel like your normal self. We could chalk this up to moodiness or situational variables, but a lot of times that reactivity can come from some basic needs that aren't being met.

And one way we can help with this is through the acronym, HALT. H-A-L-T, which represents four things that we can make sure we're addressing throughout the day. So we're going to go through it one by one. The first letter is H which stands for hunger. Now part of this is physical hunger, and I think we're all familiar with the crankiness that can come when we haven't eaten in a while.

It makes us more edgy, cranky, or the popular hangry. But hunger can also refer to an emotional hunger. Perhaps a hunger to fulfill a sense of purpose or be able to express yourself or even a hunger to accomplish something. All of these things can be a form of hunger as well, that when not met often create a subconscious feeling of not being in balance with ourselves. So the first is hunger and making sure we're attuned to that.

Next is A, which stands for anger. Am I angry right now? It's a very normal experience. But again, sometimes in the rush of the day, we don't realize the pent up anger that we might be holding or something that was unresolved from earlier in the day, the week before, or even months before. So periodically checking in to see, is there something I'm angry about that hasn't been fully able to surface or be processed that's coming up in a, an unhealthy way. And this is something we can address by either having a conversation with someone, making space for it in our awareness, or maybe feeling it in a meditation practice so it can start to release.

So those are the first two hunger anger. The L stands for loneliness. Am I lonely right now? Have I been isolated all day or a whole week? I know I'm certainly susceptible to this in my work. I enjoy my alone time, but sometimes I can push it too far and then start to feel off or unfulfilled. And it's mainly because I just need to connect with other people.

Friends, a phone call or even go to a coffee shop and see strangers. So checking in. Am I lonely right now? Do I need connection? And lastly, we have T which stands for, am I tired. This might be the one where all most familiar with as a basic need that often gets neglected. But it's quite possible that you're feeling off or reactive in some way, not because there's anything wrong with you, but simply because you're exhausted.

Perhaps you need a nap or you need to prioritize your, your sleep. We're so used to pushing through our fatigue that we often forget how important it is for our emotional wellbeing to have a full night's sleep and to be well rested. So to recap, HALT helps us connect to four things. Am I hungry? Am I angry? Am I lonely? And am I tired? And as you go throughout your day, and at times when you might feel a little bit off, see if you can come back to this as a way to check in with yourself and practice some more self-care. As always have fun with it.

Thank you for your practice. And I'll talk to you soon. Take care.